To ask women for the steps you took to get to 100k

[madasawethen]

If you're a woman making 100k or over, what steps did you take to get there.

Job title(it can be general like manager, solicitor)
Training
How long it took?
Any tips or advice for others who want to get there?

Started my own business.

Job title(it can be general like manager, solicitor)
>> Chartered Financial Planner

Training
>>19 professional exams and my Statement of Professional Standing (SPS) which is observed client interactions across all advice areas.

How long it took?
>>5 years

Any tips or advice for others who want to get there?
>>www.cii.co.uk/learning/qualifications/

It's about people and life. I run my own company so more autonomy than most, but I really enjoy the work. It's a great profession that women excel at

The most important factor which no one mentions is privilege. To have been born in the right family
>> well my parents are together, but my dad was an alcoholic

and probably had access to role models in your formative years (family or peers)
>> yes that's true, but bleating on that 'i did this without going to university' def changed my thinking (that was my dad BTW).

born in the right country at the right time
>> Oh definitely MASSIVE impact.

for your social class, attended the right school etc
>> no terrible 'village' comp
.
Without all of these things in place, it is very unlikely your effort would have lead you to a six figure salary.
>> Hmm I think you've missed the biggest issue. I'm clever. I see efficiency. I am liked by people (I like people too). I can solve problems. I can handle stress, in fact I don't get stressed as I can compartmentalise. I see patterns in problems. I like maths. I'm confident. I'm not anxious. I am loved by my family and supported.

But no-one mentions this.
>> I agree. I'm lucky as hell. I do know and appreciate this and try and give something back. Hard work does not get you as far as good luck and a great start in life

I'm finding this thread so inspiring. I'm in the same career as some of you and have been trying to work out a new 5 year plan, but I've never had a mentor and feel so blind as to what's possible.

I think I'd like to ask a couple of you some questions but will come back to this thread tomorrow when hopefully my brain is feeling a little less fried!

.

But I can’t imagine how this would be particularly helpful to an OP specifically asking for approaches and tips to building a successful career. They’re not things anyone can do anything about and the OP can’t go back in time and change her upbringing.

Far more helpful is a range of responses demonstrating that successful people do a broad range of roles, that not all of them require a degree or to have known exactly what you wanted to do as a career at 16/18/21, and that many of them share a range of attributes, few of which are taught at school and most of which you can develop as an adult - and that, in the case of women in particular, an enormously important aspect of developing your career into seniority is about focussing on and building attributes like assertiveness, self confidence, ability to challenge and visibility, which isn’t necessarily something anybody ever tells you when you’re young.

First class degree (English lit) from Cambridge, training contract from a magic circle law firm which also paid for me to do the law conversion and other prof exams, was on £100k at 2-3 years post qualification. Just about to move firms for a significant pay rise (will be £200k+) at 34 with 2 x 1 year mat leaves under my belt (kids are 4 and 18 months).

I work very long hours but am senior enough to be able to do so around the kids, so start late (9.30), take time out during the day for nursery events etc, and do bath/bed with them most nights before logging back in. No family help other than a v involved DH (who works 4 days/week) and we can afford a nanny thanks to my salary.

This kind of pay/career progression is relatively standard in city law - the hard part is bagging the TC in the first place, then there’s another hurdle at qualification. There are usually more women than men trainees but I’ve seen so many quit to go in house or leave the law altogether after they have kids.

I worked in charities for 18 years, worked my way up from graduate entry to deputy CEO. I’m now a consultant who charities hire when they’re in a pickle and need objective, senior support. I earn about 110k working about 25 hours a week. I’m 41 mother of two.

I make just under that a year with bonuses so not quite six figures but thought I’d chime in.

I am a Commercial Manager for a house builder. Essentially I manage the quantity surveyors day to day and help control costs. I am second in command to our director.

Took me 15 years to get here but unbelievably that’s a pretty good trajectory for this industry.

I have no degree, decent (but not outstanding) A levels. I started as a trainee and learnt on the job.

Top tips:

Sounds simple, but work hard! I see a lot of younger people coming through and honestly a lot are scraping by on the bare minimum effort.

Get your face out there, even if it’s just making tea in the kitchen at the same time as someone else, make small talk.

Ask questions, all the time, about everything. No such thing as too much learning or knowledge. It also helps with the first point in that you seem engaged.

Be fair and clear. No waffle, no apologies for doing your job.

Advice I’ve given others is don’t dismiss male dominated industries and do as much research as you can into different jobs. There are so many that people don’t even know exist let alone know they are well paid!

I missed the main criteria in my earlier post: make my bosses life easier.

I report to the CEO of a FTSE100. My role is ensuring they don’t have to worry about anything that falls into my shop, me, or my team. I filter the crap, shield them from the nonsense and make sure they face what they need when they need it.

As I’ve got more senior and have a team of VPs reporting into me I increasingly become appreciative of those that can v that can’t.

Add to that, being easy to get on with is a real bonus. You might have to deliver bad news, ask difficult questions and hold people to account but be the person that everyone wants to sit next to at the corporate dinner.

Following 🙂

Name changed for this.

First person in my family to go to university, so no golden spoon in my mouth, but parents were supportive and encouraged high standards in education.

Went to a very good state school until GCSEs, then a crappy comprehensive for A-levels as my family moved area, but still did ok.

Degree, PhD and Postdoc all in good universities in STEM subject.

Scientific career in Pharmaceutical Industry, becoming head of department upon returning to work after my second child, after a massive argument with the CEO who told me when I announced my pregnancy that he was going to put someone else in that job because I was pregnant - yes, those exact words. I wasn’t having that and told him so in no uncertain terms.

Was on just under 100K in that dept head role and worked 4 days a week. After a management change (the new Mgmt was even worse than that CEO!) I changed company, still in Pharma but in a Business Development role.

Title now is VP Business Development. Tripled my income with that move, made the move in my mid-40s. Higher salary, equity and an uncapped bonus scheme. Likely north of £400K this year, it’s been a very good year so far.

My current role is considerably less stressful than my previous lower paid one, the pay to stress ratio is best I have had in my life. But I did work hard to get here.

My next move should be C-suite and I get head hunted regularly for CBO and even CEO positions. But my work life balance is so good right now I am not sure if I want the change. Maybe in a few years.

I work from home, though do travel a lot on business. I have a cleaner and outsource anything that can be outsourced. My kids go to after school clubs and I pick them up from school once a week. My husband is an equal partner in all household duties and shares the mental load.

I agree with others who say getting on with people is super important to build a strong network. But stand your ground when it matters - eg my promotion mentioned above.

Also, always point out your achievements to your manager. Don’t assume they know. It is as simple as ‘well there was this problem and I solved it by x,y and z.’ They may not have even known there was a problem if you silently fixed it. It’s easy for achievements to be overlooked, so point them out and don’t be modest!

But how does mentioning privilege help the OP? I mean yes I have been very privileged (parents, schooling, opportunities) and have never claimed I am self made, but how does mentioning this privilege help people who want to grow their earning potential? It might actually be discouraging

Say I would like to run a marathon, and start a thread asking about people who have run marathons and their tips (presumably to get an idea how I can do this) and folk come on the thread and talk about their genetics and youth and height? That would just discourage me from even trying for a marathon

Place marking.
On 90k now in engineering.

Manufacturing background
Hours are long 55-60 a week but on £100k salary with car - do not have kids either which helps.

Apprentice - 18
Operative -20
Supervisor - 21
Manager - 23
Operations Manager - 26
Operations Director - 27

To get there you need commitment, dedication, put the additional work in and learn as much as you can in your own time. Read, read and read personal development books, coaching and mentoring books and videos.

Be the best person you can be even if it means upsetting your peers that are on the same level as you, there are some green eyed monsters and sometimes you need to be ruthless to get what you want.

Best advise I ever received 'Think as though you're doing the job you want to do' it will change your thought process and decision making entirely.

I work as a Business Analyst / Project Manager / Programme Manager (depending on what contract roles come up). Sometimes I do pure analysis. Sometimes I run a large programme. My first job in tech (after a completely unrelated degree) was as a trainee programmer.

These days, if I wanted to get into tech I would do some online courses or maybe do a coding boot camp. Unlike a lot of women on this thread, I have happily combined earning over £100k and having a decent work life balance for over 20 years.

Petroleum engineer. Frowned upon industry these days.

Bsc…worked a few years, quit to do a MSc.

Ive always been very flexible, worked all nighters and weekends, now in a position where I can pick and choose.

Agree with previous poster that moving companies is the best way for progression…loyalty is overrated.

Be confident in what you do, and if you dont know, let them know you’ll find out the answer.

Dont be intimidated by an all male environment…theyre pretty easy to manipulate 🤣

I don’t quite earn that but near enough, I’m not a career person. Frankly I couldn’t give a fuck. I’ve just done a decent job and got promoted over the years. If I had pushed I could have earnt a lot more but it’s not worth it if you’re a slave to work.

no training but have a normal degree. Am 47. Work in marketing

‘Unlikely’ my arse. It can be done. A jealous response like this helps nobody and contributes nothing to the thread.

loving all the responses on here especially from women in tech… hello my fellow lovelies

@WordleWitch i get paid just under for nowhere near a 40 hour week, usually around 30, never evenings or weekends, so you can’t assert that!!

In-house lawyer. Over 150K and I have all the flexibility I need.
Grew up in Soviet Union so not sure I can claim that much of a privilege - but having middle-class parents who valued education certainly helped.
LL.M.
Find a mentor, or a few people higher up who are interested in (or at least don't mind) helping you in your career.
Change jobs. Ask for more money.
Don't want to change companies but don't see the next step in the current place? Figure out how you can make yourself a role - what can you do to make your boss look good and/or make their life easier? I created an entire new department in my current company (with me as the head, of course).
Yes, getting along with people is very important - they might hire you based on your CV but they won't keep you if you are universally disliked. Being reasonably good at your job helps.

Chief Investment Officer in a wealth management company.

Economics at university then joined a hedge fund where remuneration hit 6 figures in year 2. Studied for CFA charter whilst working 80-100 hours a week. Had no life at all from the ages of 21-26 but learned a massive amount.

Realised I couldn't prioritise a relationship, let alone children in the type of role I was in. Went back to uni for a year to do a "fun" masters whilst figuring out what I wanted to do. Joined a wealth management/financial planning firm taking a 75% pay cut. Worked my way up over the next 6 years to CIO (2 babies during that time) earning c.£150k for 4 very flexible days of work (2-3 from home). I took very little maternity leave but do most pre-school drop offs and pick ups, am able to outsource all cleaning and laundry so that the 3 full days a week I have with the kids are high quality time.

My friends in finance looked at me with pity when I took the first role in my current company. I could be earning 5x what I make if I had stayed where I was, but there's no way I'd have the balance I have now. Be picky, identify where you want to be and work hard to get there, there may be tough choices to be made en route.

I went into a completely overpaid industry. I’m sure you can guess which one. I probably earned a tenth of what they paid me. I was on 100k within a few years. Anyway. It wasn’t worth the money at all, so I left, and now I earn almost nothing but feel that I’m spending my days doing something useful and important.

Also a contractor, but the Business Intelligence side of things. I also have rental income from a property and occasional writing income. Split is about 85%/10%/5% and amounts to around £110-120k.

I work 8-9 hours a day, 4 days a week. I also work about 2 weekends a year for specific client projects, otherwise my time off is entirely my own. I never do any management because I hate it.

I first hit £100k around 20 years ago.

Honestly, if you’re good at coding and have a knack for understanding business and delivering on projects, it’s an easy life.

My goodness, all these solicitors taking home double what I do, going to go and sob in the corner!